Maybe all of us are decent human beings, underneath our various coatings.

Book writers William Finn and James Lapine postulate such a world, or at least such a group of people, in their 1992 musical “Falsettos,” the revival of which is in its national tour, currently at the Ahmanson Theatre through May 19.

Finn and Lapine take us back to 1979, when Marvin (Max von Essen) has recently divorced his wife, Trina (Eden Espinosa), and moved in with his young stud boyfriend, Whizzer (Nick Adams). Trina is distraught. So is Marvin and Trina’s 11-year-old son, Jason (Thatcher Jacobs at the performance reviewed).

Marvin has been seeing a therapist, Mendel (Nick Blaemire). Trina sees him, too. Now she and Marvin want Jason to see Mendel, because Jason is “acting out.” Jason’s heartfelt cry is to be “normal,” not like his “homo” father.

And, by the way, Mendel falls in love with Trina.

From left, Max von Essen and Nick Adams appear in a scene from Falsettos, which will play at the Ahmanson Theatre through May 19. (Photo by Joan Marcus)

Eden Espinosa and Nick Blaemire appear in “Falsettos, at the Ahmanson Theatre through May 19. (Photo by Joan Marcus)

Sound

The gallery will resume inseconds

Falsettos will play at the Ahmanson Theatre through May 19. (Photo by Joan Marcus)

From left, Thatcher Jacobs and Max von Essen appear in a scene from Falsettos, which will play at the Ahmanson Theatre through May 19. (Photo by Joan Marcus)

The musical is sung-through, like opera, but we more than get the gist of the storytelling, particularly under Lapine’s direction. And though the story is period-specific, the score, with music and lyrics by Finn, sounds timeless.

For a chamber musical, the piece feels surprisingly intimate, again thanks to Lapine but also to set designer David Rockwell and lighting design Jeff Croiter. The Ahmanson stage now resembles a black-box theater, and the actors create furniture and structures using large foamy blocks.

The singing voices are beautiful. Each performer has a tone that resembles a musical instrument. Von Essen has a trumpet sound. Blaemire’s voice could be a cello. Espinosa could evoke most of an orchestra. And all the actors so fully embody their characters that we are onstage and in their lives with them.

Spencer Liff adds only bits of choreography; this is not a dance show. But his choreography goes with the story, and all his performers look good doing it.

The stitches sewing together the original three one-acts this musical is based on remain visible, but not distractingly so. Most readily observable is the sudden addition in Act 2 of Marvin’s lesbian neighbors.

Cordelia (Audrey Cardwell) is conveniently a chef. Despite apparent lack of culinary skills, she’s up for consideration to cater Jason’s bar mitzvah. Dr. Charlotte (Bryonha Marie Parham) works at the local hospital, where she notices an increasing number of young men presenting with the same strange, dire symptoms. The musical turns dark here. In Act 2, it’s 1981, and AIDS will soon ravage the world.

The bright, observant Jason doesn’t want to become like his parents. But they show him concern and compassion, remarkable human characteristics that bring out the same in him. And if “normal” is to sing and dance with utter joy given the chance, Jason is right on target to grow up wonderfully.

As the show draws to its close, we weep for those whose plights were ignored in the early 1980s. We weep for those who were disdained throughout history. We weep for those whose ignorance made them ignore and disdain. We hope, as a culture, we have learned to do better.

But as this show reminds us, the kindness in the hearts of many, and particularly in the hearts of children, will help keep our species afloat.

Somehow, Marvin gets the tight-knit family he has always wanted — not necessarily via blood or legal relationships, but instead through mutual affection, thoughtfulness, empathy, responsibility and that deeper thing we feel but don’t quite understand, which we call love.

Join the Conversation

We invite you to use our commenting platform to engage in insightful conversations about issues in our community. Although we do not pre-screen comments, we reserve the right at all times to remove any information or materials that are unlawful, threatening, abusive, libelous, defamatory, obscene, vulgar, pornographic, profane, indecent or otherwise objectionable to us, and to disclose any information necessary to satisfy the law, regulation, or government request. We might permanently block any user who abuses these conditions.

If you see comments that you find offensive, please use the “Flag as Inappropriate” feature by hovering over the right side of the post, and pulling down on the arrow that appears. Or, contact our editors by emailing moderator@scng.com.